> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.florists.digital/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Hardware

> What we recommend by name, what we help you choose with a checklist, and where we point you to the right shop.

Digital Florists is the software side of your shop. For the bits that plug into us, we tell you exactly what to buy. For the parts that change every year, like the computer and the touchscreen, we give you a checklist to take to the shop and check your basket before you spend.

If you want a model number, head to **Tested kit**. If you want to walk into a PC shop knowing what to ask for, head to **Choose your computer**. If you've already found something and want a second pair of eyes before you order, head to **Send us your basket**.

## What's in this section

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Choose your computer" icon="laptop" href="/guides/hardware/choose-your-computer">
    A framework for picking a till PC or laptop: minimum CPU, RAM, SSD, OS support, and what to avoid. No specific models.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tested kit" icon="circle-check" href="/guides/hardware/tested-kit">
    Receipt printers, cash drawers, label printers, scanners, and paper rolls we've tested by name, with prices and UK suppliers.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Touchscreens" icon="hand-pointer" href="/guides/hardware/touchscreens">
    Touch monitors that plug into your till. What to look for, what to avoid, and the Mac driver caveat.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Broadband and Wi-Fi" icon="wifi" href="/guides/hardware/broadband-and-wifi">
    How to size your line, what type to buy, and how to get Wi-Fi to the back of the shop.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Existing hardware" icon="arrows-left-right" href="/guides/hardware/existing-hardware">
    Switching from another POS? What carries over, what doesn't, and what to send us before you replace anything.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Send us your basket" icon="basket-shopping" href="/guides/hardware/send-us-your-basket">
    Found a PC, monitor, or printer you're considering? Send us the link before you buy and we'll tell you if it works.
  </Card>
</Columns>

## How we give advice

Hardware advice from us comes in three flavours. Each page in this section sits in one of them, so you know what you're getting before you start reading.

### Recommend — named models, prices, suppliers

For the parts of your till that talk directly to Digital Florists Connect, we test specific models and tell you exactly what to buy. That covers:

* **Receipt printers.** Star and Epson families we've tested are listed on [Connect Receipt Printers](/get-started/connect-receipt-printers), with prices and where to buy on [Tested kit](/guides/hardware/tested-kit).
* **Cash drawers.** Wired into the receipt printer's DK port. The APG Vasario sits at the heavy-duty end; commodity drawers fill the budget end. See [Connect Cash Drawer](/get-started/connect-cash-drawer).
* **Label printers.** Brother QL family and Zebra ZD-series. See [Connect Label Printers](/get-started/connect-label-printers) for setup and [Tested kit](/guides/hardware/tested-kit) for rolls and prices.
* **Barcode scanners.** Any USB scanner that emulates a keyboard works. We list commodity brands on [Tested kit](/guides/hardware/tested-kit).
* **Receipt and label paper rolls.** The rolls we buy, with UK suppliers, are listed on [Tested kit](/guides/hardware/tested-kit).

If it's on those pages with a price next to it, we've used it.

### Framework — criteria, not models

For the parts of your setup that change every year, we won't name a specific model. The same model name can come back with less RAM or slower storage a year later. Instead, we give you the criteria.

* **Computers.** CPU floor, RAM floor, SSD, OS support, what to walk away from. See [Choose your computer](/guides/hardware/choose-your-computer).
* **Touchscreen monitors.** Size, response time, capacitive multi-touch, and the Mac driver caveat. See [Touchscreens](/guides/hardware/touchscreens).
* **Broadband and Wi-Fi.** Full-fibre preferred, 10 Mbps per device, mesh coverage for back-of-shop. See [Broadband and Wi-Fi](/guides/hardware/broadband-and-wifi).
* **Phones for drivers.** iPhone or Android from the last 4-5 years. Any handset that still gets OS updates is fine. See [Companion App](/get-started/companion-app).

If you want a second opinion on a specific basket against these criteria, use [Send us your basket](/guides/hardware/send-us-your-basket).

### Where we won't pick for you

A few setups look fine on paper and cause trouble in practice. We'll always be honest with you about them.

* **Specific till PC models.** Models change every quarter. We'd rather give you a checklist that stays current than name a model that might be different next time you look. Send us your shortlist and we'll confirm it works.
* **All-in-one POS terminals that bundle a PC.** You're paying for a printer and drawer that we don't use, and you're tied into one supplier's replacement cycle. A regular PC plus our [tested peripherals](/guides/hardware/tested-kit) is usually cheaper, more flexible, and easier to fix when something goes wrong.
* **Refurbished PCs below the spec floor.** A £350 used machine that misses the memory, SSD, or OS-support floor often won't last the year. If your shortlist falls below the floor, we'll help you find something that will.

### Tablets as a till

Some shops run happily on an iPad or Android tablet as the till: card payments through the software, email receipts, little or no cash. If that's your shop, the dashboard and POS work well in the tablet's browser and there's nothing extra to buy.

The moment printing enters the picture, a tablet stops being enough. [Digital Florists Connect](/get-started/connect) doesn't run on iPadOS or Android, and Connect is what drives the receipt printer, cash drawer, label printer, and Interflora and eFlorist intake. The receipt printers sold for tablet POS apps are Bluetooth models, which don't work with Connect either, so a tablet till can't be fixed by choosing a different printer.

If you print receipts or labels, take cash, or bring in relay orders, run the till on a Mac or Windows PC. A tablet is then free to be brilliant at what it's built for: the [Companion App](/get-started/companion-app) on the shop floor and on the road, and the dashboard open in the browser as a glanceable workroom screen.

## Hardware that doesn't work with Connect

A short list of things we'd flag in your basket. None of these are a personal call; they just don't connect to our software.

* **Bluetooth-only printers** — Connect prints over your network or a USB cable, not Bluetooth. If Bluetooth is the only connection a listing mentions, or the Star model number ends in **BI** or **BI2**, it won't work with Connect. If one is already on your counter, see [Existing hardware](/guides/hardware/existing-hardware).
* **iPads and Android tablets as the till** — Connect runs on Mac and Windows only, so a tablet can't drive a receipt printer, cash drawer, or label printer. See [Tablets as a till](/guides/hardware#tablets-as-a-till).
* **Inkjet, laser, and consumer photo printers** (HP DeskJet/OfficeJet, Canon PIXMA, Epson WorkForce, Brother HL/MFC) — Connect is built for thermal receipt and label printers.
* **Chromebooks** — Connect doesn't run on ChromeOS. Use a Mac or Windows PC.
* **32-bit Windows** — Connect needs 64-bit Windows. Any machine sold in the last five years is 64-bit by default.
* **Intel Macs** — Connect is Apple Silicon only (M1 or newer). Intel Macs sold before late 2020 won't run it.

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why don't you just sell a kit?">
    Stocking hardware is a different business from making software, and the right kit for a one-till shop isn't the right kit for a three-till shop. A one-size bundle would force one of those setups to overpay. You buy directly from a supplier we know works, and we help you pick.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can you just tell me what PC to buy?">
    Not by model, no. A model we tested last year might not be the same product today. What we can tell you is the spec floor (CPU, RAM, SSD, OS support) and check a specific basket against it. Use [Choose your computer](/guides/hardware/choose-your-computer) for the floor and [Send us your basket](/guides/hardware/send-us-your-basket) when you've picked something.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What if I already have a PC?">
    If it runs Windows 10 or later (64-bit) or macOS 12 or later on Apple Silicon, hits the RAM and SSD floor on [Choose your computer](/guides/hardware/choose-your-computer), and isn't an Intel Mac, it'll almost certainly work. If you're not sure, send us the model number through [Send us your basket](/guides/hardware/send-us-your-basket).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use an iPad or Android tablet as my till?">
    Yes, if your shop runs paper-free — email receipts, card payments, little or no cash. Some shops work exactly that way and it's a tidy setup. What a tablet can't do is drive hardware: [Connect](/get-started/connect) runs on Mac and Windows only, and it's what powers receipt printing, the cash drawer, label printing, and Interflora and eFlorist intake. If you need any of those, run the main till on a Mac or Windows PC and keep the tablet for the [Companion App](/get-started/companion-app) or as a workroom dashboard screen. If it's the touch experience you're after, see [Touchscreens](/guides/hardware/touchscreens).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What about Chromebooks?">
    Connect doesn't run on ChromeOS, so a Chromebook can't be your till, though it's fine as a second device. See [Connect](/get-started/connect#common-questions) for what you'd lose without it.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## What's next?

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Choose your computer" icon="laptop" href="/guides/hardware/choose-your-computer">
    Start with the spec floor before you spend anything.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tested kit" icon="circle-check" href="/guides/hardware/tested-kit">
    Named printers, drawers, scanners, and rolls with prices.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Connect" icon="plug" href="/get-started/connect">
    The companion app that talks to your printers and drawer.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Getting Help" icon="life-ring" href="/get-started/getting-help">
    Stuck on a basket or a model? Get in touch.
  </Card>
</Columns>